Oral Answers to Questions

Neil Hudson Excerpts

Thursday 21st October 2021 Commons Chamber

[Anne-Marie Trevelyan]

As I have said, we have been clear that trade never comes at the expense of human rights, but we will always make use of the many relationships we have, including a very strong and long-standing relationship with Saudi Arabia, to work with partners not only to get mutual trading benefit but to help to make improvements on the issues that we consider to be important.

[Dr Neil Hudson (Penrith and The Border) (Con)]

2. What steps her Department has taken to help increase global export opportunities for British farmers.

[Simon Baynes (Clwyd South) (Con)]

4. What steps her Department has taken to help increase global export opportunities for British farmers.

--- Later in debate ---

[The Secretary of State for International Trade (Anne-Marie Trevelyan)]

Our trade agreements are lowering tariffs and unlocking new opportunities for food exporters and the farmers that supply them. The Department for International Trade supports such businesses to capitalise on those opportunities, expand into new markets and sell fantastic British produce overseas.

[Dr Hudson]

Our fantastic farmers in Cumbria and the wider UK produce world-class food with the highest animal welfare and environmental standards. We should be very proud of that—we can be a beacon to the rest of the world. What reassurances can my right hon. Friend give to the farmers in Penrith and The Border and throughout the UK that those high standards will be upheld in future trade deals, and that meaningful parliamentary scrutiny will be possible, not least through the urgent establishment of the new Trade and Agriculture Commission?